‘He’s a dirty cop’: Family of man charged with stealing Boston officer’s gun proclaims his innocence

Amanda Milkovits Journal Staff Writer amandamilkovits

Monday

Feb 11, 2019 at 12:52 PMFeb 11, 2019 at 12:52 PM

PROVIDENCE — A Providence man nicknamed “Gunplay” was arraigned Monday morning on charges of stealing a gun from a Boston police officer who was in a Pawtucket hotel with two prostitutes.

Kyle L. Benford, 24, of 2 Bodell Ave., Apt. 5, shook his head and stared at the door as District Court Judge Stephen M. Isherwood read the charges against him — felony larceny of a firearm and conspiracy. The two women, Melissa Dacier, 22, and Neish Rivera, 25, are also charged.

Benford was held on $20,000 surety bail and will likely be held as a violator of his probation on a drug conviction from 2015.

Benford was looking for his friends and family, who entered mid-arraignment. While he couldn’t plead his innocence, they did so for him outside the courtroom, loudly proclaiming, “Free Gunplay!” and “Free Kyle!” and questioning why Boston officer Emanuel Brandao wasn’t charged with soliciting prostitutes.

While not identifying Brandao, a spokesman for the Boston Police Department said last week that the officer whose gun was stolen was placed on paid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation.

“He’s a dirty cop. He should be fired for that,” said Benford’s sister Honey Pompey. “He’s on leave with pay? That’s not good. He should be fired on sight.”

Brandao had traveled to Rhode Island on Feb. 1 for a “date” with “Miss Magic,” the Instagram name for Rivera. She happened to be out on bail on a prostitution charge from a sex sting at the Foxy Lady strip club in December.

Rivera told police that Brandao wanted a second woman to join them, so she invited Dacier, according to police and court records. They went drinking at Nara Lounge, a hookah bar in Providence, then to the Cadillac Lounge strip club, where Brandao said he locked his department-issued Glock in his BMW’s glove box.

The three returned to Hampton Inn in the wee hours of Feb. 2. That’s where they encountered Benford, who was staying at the hotel with his girlfriend and their infant daughter, his family said.

Benford’s family and a police report said that Benford yelled at Dacier and Rivera for messing with a diaper bag they’d left in an elevator. Brandao intervened, and they went their separate ways.

The women told Pawtucket police that Brandao agreed to pay them $2,500 for sex, by transferring money through an app on their phones, according to police and court records.

Benford’s cousin Jason Doggett laughed. “You don’t have to pay $2,500. You can pay $25 for some females.”

In any case, Brandao sent Dacier to his BMW to get his phone charger, according to police. While she was at the car, according to police, Benford got into the vehicle and stole Brandao’s .40-caliber Glock.

Dacier and Rivera left shortly afterward. Brandao called police when he realized the women — and his gun — were gone.

Rivera later told the Pawtucket police where to find the gun. It was in a plastic Walmart bag stuffed inside a mail slot at the Hartford Avenue fire station in Providence.

Both Rivera and Dacier are also charged with larceny of a firearm and conspiracy, and are being held without bail as violators on other cases.

Pompey said that Dacier was a longtime family friend. That changed after they heard a prosecutor say that Dacier and Rivera identified Benford as the one who stole the gun.

They also say the real culprit is the Boston officer, who gave his keys to a prostitute, knowing the gun was in his car.